News

Newsletter for the week ending Friday 24th November
24 November 2023

Rehearsals for all the Christmas celebrations are now in full swing and can be heard throughout the school!  Please see below for the dates and timings for each on.

Staff safeguarding this week has been on the topic of sexting which. Not only does sexting start early, studies have found that it is also fairly common. As early as 8 years old, more than one in 10 children with smartphones will become exposed to sexting and this number rises rapidly by the time they are 13.To understand more about the risks children face, please click here for a parent’s guide.

Please remember to vote for our science resources fundraising project with your blue tokens at Tesco in Bideford and Westward Ho!

Click here for a short story competition with prizes organised by Bideford Library.

A few diary dates:

  • Click here for a meet Santa invite at Holy Trinity Church on 25th November
  • St Mary’s Church, Appledore, Christingle Service December 10th at 4pm
  • Christmas fair 3.30-5pm, Friday 8th December, bottom playground
  • Turtles & Dolphins nativity 5th December 2.30pm and 5,15pm start, school hall. Children to school 4.45pm for second performance please
  • Year 1&2 nativity 11th December 2pm and 12th December 9.30am, school hall. Due to limited space, please attend only the one performance.
  • Christmas service for years 3-6 Friday 15th December, 2pm, St Mary’s church.

 

Wishing you all a super weekend.

From Jeremy Cooper and all the children and staff

AROUND THE CLASSES

This week in Turtles and Dolphins we have continued to learn about Diwali. We compared Diwali to Christmas. We also finished making our Diva pot. On Tuesday we tasted some Indian food. We have also started to practise our Nativity. Today we went down to the Library to change our books.

In Year 1 this week we have been finishing off our addition and subtraction work in Maths and have started learning about 3D shapes. We recapped the names of shapes and enjoyed playing a game where part of the shape was hidden and we had to use our knowledge of the shapes to guess which shape it was. In writing we have started a new story- The Three Little Pigs. We made a story map and have been comparing our story with a different version of the story. In topic we looked at artefacts from the Great Fire of London and discussed how artefacts help us know what happened in the past. We also made an oil pastel picture of the fire.

This week Lundy Puffins (year 2) have been writing a new version of the story ‘Augustus and his smile’ and have tried hard to use all of their writing skills. In Maths, they have completed their learning about addition and subtraction by comparing number sentences. They are excited to start their new learning about 2D and 3S shapes next week. In their History work, they learned about the explorer Sir Ranulph Feinnes and his expeditions. They have started to learn the songs for the Christmas play and are busy learning their lines.

It has been a busy week as all of key stage 2 have been working extremely hard on our Christmas performance, All song words and speaking parts have now been sent home and as always any help with learning the words will be greatly appreciated. We will keep costumes simple and I will send out details next week. If anyone happens to have any sheep costumes that they would be happy for us to borrow that would be very helpful. We also need a brown overcoat in the style of Eric Morecambe if anyone happens to have one!

Seahunter class (year 3) have had a fantastic week. In Maths, we started a new topic on multiplication and division. We began the topic by creating equal groups and we used arrays to calculate multiplication questions. In English, we challenged ourselves to use powerful adjectives, verbs and adverbs to create a vivid description of the volcanic eruption in Pompeii. In Science, we tested the permeability of different rocks by placing them in water and watching for bubbles. We also took part in some exciting outdoor learning where we learnt all about soil and what it is made up of. In History, we explored the Bronze Age and learnt how knowledge of bronze was brought to Britain by the Bell Beaker people and we had a go at creating our own bell beaker pots out of clay. In Computing, we have been learning about digital devices and learnt all about the input, process and output needed for them.

In HMS Echo (year 4) this week, we have been busy learning our times tables in Maths, including knowing the division facts and noticing any patterns with different multiples. In English, weare coming to the end of writing our information text about our fictional place, and we’ll be moving onto poetry. In History, we looked more into Boudicca’s rebellion, and why this was so significant. In Science, we have left eggs in different drinks for a week and we’ll be looking at the results of this – we’re looking forward to see what has happened to the eggs and how this can link to tooth decay! In PE, we have been working on our defending skills by marking. For our value of friendship, we looked at what a friendly disposition is (being friendly and approachable), and how being friendly and approachable can affect their friendships.

Year 5 have finished publishing their ‘overcoming the monster’ stories this week. They will be put together and on display in the main building for you to read. IN maths we have looked at strategies for multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000. In our outdoor learning session we used our knowledge about the Anglo-Saxons to complete a range of tasks. This included building a longboat, making fire to cook bread and making shelters using wattle and daub. In ICT we used the ‘crumbles’ to create a motor and sparkle to work at the same time. Please continue learning lines/songs for the Christmas production.

Year 6 are going to be working with fractions for the next few weeks in maths. I have added a link in Google classroom to some resources for anyone who needs a little extra. In Literacy, they have been finding out about Harry Clement, who was an evacuee in Clovelly during the Second World War, ready to do some biographical writing. In Science, it has been all about blood to further our circulatory knowledge. Art had involved making hats for the Chjrstmas hoop – they are very easy but really effective. In PE, Handball and Tag Rugby skills have been used – there is a good level of competition in small sided games. History has involved looking at how serious the threat of invasion was. Thank you to all those who have shared artefacts from home – it has been really interesting finding out information. Homework this week involves packing a suitcase as an evacuee – It will be interesting to see what is essential! Sorry about the mixup with Outdoor Learning – I was a week ahead so we still have it to look forward to next week. Some children have been asking for help with SATs so they will be bringing home a Grammar booklet with word classes in. The idea is they have a go, we mark it in school and then it is a resource for them to keep as a reminder.


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